Exam questions

A  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

1. Geographical position and climate.

The UK, Geography and Climate

The United Kingdom is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. With a total area of approximately 250k km, the UK occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands.

The UK lies between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and comes within 35 km of the north-west coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. It shares a 499 km international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The Channel Tunnel bored beneath the English Channel, now links the UK with France.

The climate of the UK is generally temperate, although significant local variation occurs, particularly as a result of altitude and distance from the coast. In general the south of the country is warmer than the north, and the west wetter than the east. Due to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream, the UK is significantly warmer than some other locations at similar latitude, such as Newfoundland.

The prevailing winds are southwesterly, from the North Atlantic Current. More than 50% of the days are overcast. There are few natural hazards, although there can be strong winds and floods, especially in winter.

Ireland, Geography and Climate

Ireland is an island in northwest Europe in the north Atlantic Ocean. The island lies on the European continental shelf, part of the Eurasian Plate. The island's main geographical features include low central plains surrounded by coastal mountains. The western coastline is rugged, with many islands, peninsulas, headlands and bays. The island is bisected by the River Shannon. There are a number of sizeable lakes along Ireland's rivers, of which Lough Neagh is the largest.

The climate of Ireland is mild, moist and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes. Ireland's climate is defined as a temperate oceanic climate, a classification it shares with most of northwest Europe. The country receives generally warm summers and mild winters. It is considerably warmer than other areas on its latitude, because it lies in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, and as a result is warmed by the North Atlantic Current all year.The climate in Ireland does not experience extreme weather, with tornadoes and similar weather features being rare.

2. The four countries of the uk and their symbols.

Great Britain = England + Scotland + Wales

United Kingdom* = England + Scotland + Wales + Northern Ireland

British Isles = England + Scotland + Wales + Northern Ireland + Republic of Ireland

Note that Great Britain is an island, not a country. The British Isles are a group of islands, not a country. The United Kingdom is a sovereign state made up of its four constituent countries listed above.

England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century. The Union between England and Wales was enacted under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. In the Act of Union of 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanent union as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, but in 1921, the Anglo-Irish treaty formalized a partition of Ireland, although six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom and became known as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was adopted in 1927.

England England is the largest and richest part of the UK. Nearly 84 per cent of population of the UK lives in England, mainly in the major cities and metropolitan areas.

England shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain. The Channel Tunnel directly links England to France. England takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled in this territory during the 5th and 6th centuries. It used to be known as "Angla land", meaning "the land of the Angles". The capital city of England is London. The Greater London is the biggest city in England, in the United Kingdom and one of the worldТs largest cities. London was the historical centre of the British Empire. Such cities as Manchester and Birmingham now rival for the second place in importance. Other big cities are concentrated mainly in central and northern England and they include Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Hull.

England is a country of lowland, where no part of it is higher than 120 metres above the sea level. The county of Lancashire is famous for its wide beaches where the tides are unusually high. Lake District (or Cumbria) in Northern England is very famous and its lakes, hills and valleys make it an excellent place for having rest.

The ruins of Hadrian's Wall are also here. It is a stone wall built across the north of England by the order of the Roman Emperor Hadrian to defend the northern border of Britain from the Scottish tribes. The floral emblem and at the same time the symbol of England is the red rose. This flower has become a symbol since the civil war which is called War of roses (1455-1485) was ended and the winner was the Royal Family with the family symbol red rose. Besides the floral symbol England has the national animal of England and it is a lion.

Scotland Scotland is a beautiful country with dramatic mountains, lochs and many offshore islands. The Cheviot Hills is a natural boundary between England and Scotland. This part of the UK is divided into three regions: Lowlands, Highlands and Southern Upland.

Scotland is not densely populated. Most part of the Scottish population lives in Lowlands. Scotland's biggest city, Glasgow, is situated on the bank of the river Clyde. Though this city is the biggest port and the most industrially developed, still it is not the capital.

Edinburgh has been the capital of Scotland since the 15th century. It is known as "the Athens of the North" and is one of the United Kingdom's nicest cities. There is the Palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh, the Queen's official residence in Scotland.

In the Highlands the Scots speak English with their own accent. Besides English they also speak Gaelic, the ancient Scottish language.

The national flower in Scotland is the Thistle or sometimes it is called Scottish Bluebell. It became the symbol since the 15th century when this prickly-leaved violet flower was used as the defense of the border of the country. Scotland also has its national animal and it is a unicorn

Whales The Welsh people call their country Cymru ['kimru]. Wales is the land of rocks, mountains and valleys. There is a region in the high Cumbrian Mountains called Snowdonia. Its scenery is the pride of Wales. Snowdonia is named after the highest peak of these mountains – Snowdon at 1,085 metres above sea level. The largest cities in the south of Wales are Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. The greatest concentration of people lives in these cities. Cardiff is the principality's capital and the main seaport and Swansea is its industrial centre. Cardiff has been the capital since 1955.

The largest town in the north of Wales is Wrexham.

The Welsh language is spoken widely, especially in the north of the country. It is one of the Celtic languages. It is still the first language for many people.

Wales is often called "the land of song". The Welsh people, especially in rural ares are fond of poetry, singing folk songs and playing the harp. There are a lot of choirs in Wales.

Wales has the symbol spring flower daffodil. There are many versions about the origin of this symbol, but the main was told by Shakespeare in his poem in which Welsh archers wore this flower in the battle of Agincourt in 15th century for easy distinguishing from the enemies. Sometimes it is possible to find the leek as the symbol of Wales. Welsh national animal is a red dragon which is also on the welsh flag.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is the smallest part of the UK. "Ulster" is sometimes used as equivalent to Northern Ireland because it contains six counties of the historic province of Ulster. Eire ['ɛərə] is a poetic name for the whole Ireland (Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland).

Fresh green grass coveres the ground in Ireland and it makes the island look so beautiful. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. It is a great industrial centre and a large port. For seven centuries Ireland was a colony of Britain. Historically the hatred between colonised people of Ireland and their colonisers was underlined by the difference in their religions. Northern Ireland is known for its long-lasting political conflict between Catholics and Protestants.

Nationalists, who are mainly Catholic, want Nothern Ireland to be unified with the Republic of Ireland and Unionists, who are mainly Protestant – want it to remain part of the United Kingdom. The Irish flag dates from the 1800s. The colours have a symbolic meaning. Green represents the Roman Catholics of Ireland, orange the Protestants of Ulster and white represents peace.

And the Northern Ireland also has its own flower symbol it is shamrock. The legend told that with the help of this three-leaf plant St. Patrick explained the Trinity. He said that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit can’t exist separately as the shamrock can’t be with one leave. And later his followers used to wear the shamrock on St. Patrick's Day.